ISSN 1068�798X, Russian Engineering Research, 2010, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 396–398. © Allerton Press, Inc., 2010.Original Russian Text © A.S. Vokhidov, L.O. Dobrovol’skii, 2010, published in STIN, 2010, No. 1, pp. 8–11.

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At the beginning of December, the Rusnanotech�08 forum was held in Moscow. The forum coincidedwith the onset of the global economic crisis, whichreignited the debate between old antagonists: support�ers of globalization as an irresistible trend in humancivilization; and opponents not so much of globaliza�tion as of the forced participation of nations in thisprocess. Attempts to create a global economic systemas a kind of overarching superstructure have led todisaster for many national systems, and economicproblems have precipitated political and social crises.

In these conditions, the diversion of human atten�tion from the macrocosm to the nano scale engenderscertain risks: will new discoveries at the nano level,extended over hundreds and thousands of manufac�turers and laboratories, prove harmful to humanity ona global scale? The opposition between humanity,regarded as a closed self�organizing, self�developing,self�regulating, and self�reproducing system, and theenvironment (even at a planetary scale) does notalways play out in humanity’s favor.

Humans are adapted to certain living conditions,but ceaseless attacks by viruses, microbes, molds, andother agents, together with constant natural cata�clysms, force us always to be on the defensive. In thiscontext, nanotechnology may change the naturaldevelopment of the human organism. Human activityin the nano realm, together with developments ingenetic engineering, will undoubtedly have evolution�ary consequences for the human organism. The fun�damental principles of life—that is, the organizationof exchange processes within the organism—may bemodified by nanotechnology.

The intensity of such exchange processes varies overthe lifespan: immediately after the creation of a neworganism, its rate of nutritive intake exceeds the rate atwhich the nutrients are broken down. This ensures thanthe organism will grow. By the age of 17–19, the rates ofassimilation and discharge even out, and the organismestablishes a dynamic equilibrium between the intakeand output sides of the exchange processes. Subse�quently, the growth of the organism essentially stops,but assimilation continues. Between the ages of 25 and60, equilibrium is observed between intake and output:the system is relatively stable.

Structural changes in the physicochemical compo�nents of any organism will occur at the nano level. Thisscale allows the organization (system) to obtain opti�mal combinations of structural materials, ensuring thereproduction of a naturally programmed model in itssubsequent development. The system itself discardssurplus compounds. Otherwise, any element of thesystem would depart from stable equilibrium, with theappearance of imbalance.

As yet, human impact on the environment hasremained within natural limits of purity and conserva�tion. Barbaric and ill�conceived human intrusion at thenano level (especially in biology and medicine) maythrow the environment into imbalance. The response tosuch disruption might be a massive mutation.

Many nanostructural materials differ sharply fromregular materials in their properties. This offers theopportunity to design and produce new devices, withnew functional capabilities. The construction of a glo�bal system on new principles and the creation of a newrelationship between humanity and the nano realm maynot always be conducive to the use of our new knowl�edge for the betterment of our civilization. This possi�bility is suggested by the unpredictable interaction ofnatural and artificial nanosystems and the radicalchange in the initial physicochemical properties ofnanoparticles as their structure becomes more compli�cated.

Human interventions in the nano realm calls tomind a statement by Feuerbach: “Philosophers seekonly to explain the world by various means; our goal isto change it.” The use of nanotechnology to createfundamentally new systems (including self�organizingand self�renewing systems) at the junction of organicand inorganic matter is reshaping specialists’ ideasregarding physics, chemistry, biology, information sci�ence, and related disciplines. As we know, such recon�ceptualization will lead to efforts to make changes onthe macro scale.

The infinity of new ideas discovered by pragmatichumans in attempts to comprehend the nano realmresembles the infinity of ideas regarding the cosmos.We are expanding our understanding of such key con�cepts as determinacy and indeterminacy, finite andinfinite, energy, and the measurement of radiant phe�nomena.

Nanotechnology Today and TomorrowA. S. Vokhidov and L. O. Dobrovol’skii

OOO Avtostankoprom, St Petersburg

DOI: 10.3103/S1068798X10040180

RUSSIAN ENGINEERING RESEARCH Vol. 30 No. 4 2010

NANOTECHNOLOGY TODAY AND TOMORROW 397

Sagatovskii notes:

The infinite and the finite characterize reality on anyscale, both in breadth (beyond the galaxy, there is ametagalaxy, and so on without end) and in depth(beyond the elementary particles, there are quarks, andso on without end). The electron is finite with respect tothe atom but contains infinity. This infinity, which comesinto being as the electron enters new interactions, isknown as potential infinity. In our simple example, therefinement that becomes possible as the human peers fur�ther into the fog is potentially infinite (as, for example, isthe refinement of measurement results).

The development of nanotechnology permits theanalysis and development of zero�energy technologyand generating vacuum systems. Such developmentswill lead to fundamental reinterpretations of physicaland chemical processes.

The international community, as it musters its sci�entific and productive energies in pursuit of nanotech�nology, without changing its basic priorities (energyresources, medicine, environmental health), pursuesnew knowledge regarding objects that range in sizefrom microparticles to atoms. Whereas the worlds ofatoms and of microparticles have been relatively wellstudied, much remains to be done regarding the sys�tematic adaptation of the products of vital processesand space technology. Today, nanotechnology is notvirgin soil: the terrain has been surveyed, and the firstharvest has been gathered. Specialist problems withinthe field are often interwoven with topics in adjacenttheoretical and practical specialties. In our view, themoment is approaching for a philosophical interpreta�tion of the field.

In ontological terms, the relationship betweenhumanity and the nano realm is characterized by a setof circumstances (both known and unknown as yet)that confirm the existence of various forms of relation�ship in various conditions. What do humans encounteron entering the nano realm? The search is underwayfor a more complete description of the nano realm thatis confined to particular specialist viewpoints but fullyrepresents the big picture. This description must takeaccount of the consequences of nanotoxicity and theimpact of nanobiotechnologies and other technolo�gies, within the framework of the need for environ�mental protection.

The Rosnano forum (Moscow) represents anacknowledgment of the need for specialists in variousfields to develop insights regarding the intersections ofnanotechnology, fundamental science, engineering,and industry and to appraise the problems that mightarise in the near future. The papers presented at theforum covered a wide range of problems, some ofwhich have emerged in the last 10–20 years. Only atthe forum could the whole nano elite convene and getan overview of the current research, practical develop�

ments, and problems. All the presentations agreed onthe economic and social value of nanoindustry.

In social terms, nanoprojects are promisingbecause they demand the latest technological accom�plishments and are attracting the interest of theupcoming generation. In fact, nanoprojects are asso�ciated with a rethinking of ideas about the world as awhole, since the problems to be solved touch on unre�solved areas not only of science and engineering butalso of philosophy, including spiritual philosophy, withfar�reaching implications for existence on a planetaryscale and for the relation between humankind and oursurroundings. The reconfiguration of consciousnesswith each new nanoproject must improve our relationswith the natural world. Thus, we may regard nano�technology as a pipeline delivering new ideas about theworld.

Any participation in nanoprojects will expand thepopulation interested or involved in these matters butalso willing to intervene on that scale. At the state level,that should be regarded as a benefit, in terms of culturaldevelopment. The destructive action of modern masscommunications on the minds of our youth may bereplaced by the intellectual stimulation that comes withimmersion in nanotechnological problems.

Nanoprojects should also be of interest to the stateas a means of raising the professional capabilities ofthe workforce to a qualitatively new level. This entailssignificant modification of all existing education pro�grams to accommodate the new developments inphysics, chemistry, physical chemistry, and other dis�ciplines that are being spurred by nanotechnology. Thestate should also give priority to nanotechnology for itsbenefits in terms of national security and the armedforces.

Another important concern is the nation’s intellec�tual security. The exhaustion of gas, oil, timber, andother irreplaceable resources is nothing in comparisonwith the loss of intellectual resources. Even the loss ofhuman resources can be remedied over time. However,the exhaustion of intellectual resources is comparablewith leukemia on a national scale, with all its atten�dant consequences. Accordingly, social problemsrelated directly and indirectly to nanotechnology(such as medicine, gerontology, nutrition, materialsscience in industry and the building trades, transpor�tation, information technology, and the power indus�try) are no longer of purely scientific interest but ofgreat practical importance.

In economic terms, any nanoproject must be con�sidered within the context of the issues raised at theRosnano forum. Specialist interest in the nano realmis growing. Today, energy conservation, environmentalprotection, medicine, and information science pro�vide the basis for most fundamental advances in sci�ence and technology. Accordingly, economic numbercrunching can only give a first approximation of the

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worth of nanoprojects. It is difficult to predict who willmake the next advance in nanotechnology, because ofthe deep interpenetration of disciplines that itinvolves: one explosive discovery sets off seismic shiftsin adjacent fields.

Thus, the industrial adoption of new materials pro�duced by nanotechnology (in machining, pharmaceu�ticals, the medical industry, oil and gas extraction,construction, transportation, etc.) not only increaseslabor productivity in certain economic sectors but alsochanges the menu of materials available and permitsthe replacement of imports with domestic materials.

Another economic benefit is the use of new prod�ucts (technological systems, materials, interactionmechanisms, etc.) in other fields of science, engineer�ing, or industry to solve analogous problems.

Each paper presented at the Rusnanotech�08forum was specialist in character, but revealed broadtrends in science, industry, medicine, materials, sci�ence, etc. For machine�tool design, the forum’s pro�ceedings provide rich material for reflection and forinsight into new approaches. This information will bereviewed in forthcoming articles.